Brod & Taylor Sourdough Home

I’ve been maintaining my own sourdough starter for about a year and this thing is a life saver! It has totally transformed my ability to maintain a healthy starter without worrying about temperature variability. I can speed up or slow down fermentation so easily depending on when I want to bake with my starter. I also love that I can turn the temperature down for when I go on vacation and much prefer that than putting it in the fridge. If you have a sourdough starter, this is TOTALLY worth the price!

I've been using the Brød & Taylor Sourdough Home for almost two months, and I'm very pleased with its performance. Some reviewers have complained that it is noisy, but at my unit is very quiet. My sourdough starter has been very happy living in this, and is essentially always ready for use, on my baking schedule. This along with the Brød & Taylor folding dough proofer have been 'game changers' for me, allowing for precise control of temperatures, and much improved consistency. For recipes that I've worked out, I get excellent and predictable results each time now, where I struggled a bit with consistency before. As a number of baking experts have stated, time & temperature are important 'ingredients' in sourdough (and yeast) baked goods. My reason for purchasing was that I typically only bake 1-2 times a week, and did not want to maintain a starter at room temperature because of the inconvenience and waste from all the required feedings. And, to store my starter in the refrigerator, after feeding I'd let it expand at room temperature to about 1.5x, and then refrigerate. Problem was that starter from these cold conditions (~34degF) was sluggish, and needed at least one feeding at room temp to 'revive' it. Using the starter maintenance guidelines from the instructions & 'The Fresh Loaf' blog site, I keep the starter at 45degF, and feed it every 5-6 days with a 1:4:4 (SD starter:water:flour) ratio, never bothering to ever warm it to room temperature. This fits my baking schedule, but higher temperatures can be used if one wants to bake more often. At 45degF, I see good fermentation activity and bubbles by about 24-hours post feeding, and I've had excellent results using this to inoculate a levain from 24 hours to 6 days post feeding. I'll incubate the levain (typically 40% starter + flour & water for a 75-100% hydration levain) at 78degF in the Brød & Taylor Folding Proofer (also an excellent unit) and get doubling to tripling of levain volume in 3.5-4.5 hours. Thus, starter feeding is simplified, my starter is essentially always ready for use, and I think the consistent regime of starter feeding & maintenance has been beneficial for starter health. I keep just small amounts of starter (~180g) in a pint mason jar that works well for me, and minimizes generation of the useful 'sourdough discard'. Unit also holds quart jars if your starter needs are greater. I most often employ a levain, so my active starter needs are modest. Higher temperatures can also be dialed in to adjust to how frequent you want to feed, and your baking schedule. Unit is a bit pricey, but for a serious sourdough bread baker who can manage it, well worth the price in my opinion.

If you're a home Sourdough baker, the Brod & Taylor Sourdough Home is a game-changer. I’ve been using it regularly, and it’s nothing short of amazing. It maintains a consistent temperature even in a cold house which is essential for reliable fermentation and proofing. The design is sleek and compact. Setup is intuitive, and the controls are simple to navigate. It keeps your sourdough starter at the ideal warm, humid environment that yeast and wild cultures thrive in. For sourdough enthusiasts, it’s especially perfect. No more worrying about fluctuating room temps or makeshift setups. My starter has never been happier, and my loaves are consistently well-risen and flavorful.

Why did it take me so long to buy this sourdough home? I live in the first floor of a condo building that always seems to be somewhat too cold for “room temperature” dough handling. It just doesn’t work, specially when handling anything with the sourdough name on it. Tried everything, from larger proofing boxes to the oven proofing setting. Nothing. Out of frustration I coughed up the money for the Brod & Taylor and just like that, the sourdough proofing is off the charts. Amazing results even on my first try. The unit stays clean too, and while made out of plastic, it feels sturdy and durable. It also is cool to the touch outside, with a door that feels snug and firm after closing. Couldn’t be happier with my purchase.

I have only had this for about 2 days, but already impressed! Well built and sturdy, compact but roomy enough for my needs, lovely simple design that blends into our kitchen nicely while still looking modern and attractive. Set up was easy (plug and play basically). Interior can fit my 32 oz wide mouth Ball jar easily with a bit of room to spare around it. I love that it comes with a chart that tells you exactly what temp to use depending on the interval you want to feed your starter (ie one week vs one day vs every 12 hours). I typically bake on Sun/Mon/Tues, so I can drop the temp during the week and just feed once and be sure my starter will remain healthy and happy :) I was planning to bake the next day, so I set it to 70F and fed my starter the evening before, and I'll be damned but my starter came out looking healthier than it has ever looked before! It's wild! I am sold on this thing solely for that. It really works well to keep your starter at it's healthiest! If I had to say one negative thing about this unit, it would be that there is a seam between the front and back half that runs on the bottom of the interior, and I could foresee that being a pain to clean if your starter ever overflowed. But if you are careful and don't overfeed it, you shouldn't have to worry about that too much! Honestly, for how well this thing works, the quality of build, and the lovely design....I'm really surprised at the price-point. It is far more economical than I realized. Don't hesitate! UPDATE: It's been over a month now and I stand by everything I said. This gadget is amazing, especially going into winter when it's difficult for me to control temp in my home.

I bake 1-2 times per week so this sourdough home is very handy at managing the feedings of my starter and keeping it healthy and strong. I store my starter in it at 50° and feed 2-3 times a week instead of daily. I’ve also used it to help rise the levain a little quicker on cold days by increasing the temp to about 78°. Interior is on the smaller side, but I maintain a small starter so it can fit one 16 oz Ball jar, or one 1 liter WECK tulip jar. You can keep two starters if you use two 8 oz Ball jars or 2 mini WECK tulip jars, or 2 petite Brod and Taylor sourdough crocks (per their website). It uses very little electricity so I don’t worry about energy consumption. Overall very happy with the purchase.

My sourdough home just arrived today, and I wasted no time at all setting it to where I want it and putting my starter inside. I have killed a couple of starters in the fridge over the years, and I hate the waste and the constant monitoring of leaving it on the countertop...my ambient temp varies between 95 and 55 over the course of the year. It was a little bigger than I expected, pic next to my keurig for size. Was super easy to set up, just plug in, adjust temperature, and go! I maintain two starters, so I will have to size them down so they will both fit inside. I will try to update in a few weeks with my opinions after use

Most sourdough books tell you to keep your starter at room temperature. Easier said than done, as room temp varies from day to day and even hour to hour. Sure you can put it in the oven with the oven light on, but there is a better way. Most of the serious books say to keep it between 75 and 80 degrees. That's a darn hot room temperature. This little box takes care of it. Sure, at $149.00, it's a bit pricey, but it's worth it if you make sourdough bread frequently and want to maintain a "ready to use" active starter. Plug it in, set the temp (mine is at 78 degrees), put the starter in and walk away. I've used my infrared thermometer to check the internal temp, and it never varies by more than +/- 0.1 degree. The only caution I'd give is be careful when opening and closing the door. The on/off and temperature control "+" and "-" buttons are in the middle of the door. They are VERY sensitive. I wasn't paying attention and when I closed the door, i touched the power button and turned it off. I didn't realize I done that until the following morning when I noticed that the temp display light was not illuminated. I immediately checked the internal temp and it was still at 72.1 degrees after being off for over 12 hours. Turned it back on and it went back up to 78. As with all Brod & Taylor, the quality is outstanding. I also own their collapsible proofing box for proofing bread dough as well as pizza dough. I'd recommend it as well.

Vivo en el norte de México, donde la temperatura media es muy por arriba de la ideal para cultivar masa madre. El refrigerador esta bien pero no ideal para el crecimiento óptimo de la masa. Lastimosamente mi cultivo principal no sobrevivió el calor, pero guardé descarte con el cuál pude revivir mi cultivo. Es una chulada, tal cuál una incubadora, para mi caso donde vivo en climas extremos, esta es la mejor opción para tener un cultivo saludable.

It kept a constant temperature and was able to change quickly between warm and cold. I wish it was larger but should work for most cases. Their customer support is also top notch, always great to know companies care about their customers!

This is an excellent appliance. I made sourdough starter for the first time in my life and it worked first time perfectly. Set to 23C I was able to get a nice reactive sourdough starter in 5 days and was making pizza and naan bread with the discard after this time. After 7 days feeding and fermenting the starter, I made my first sourdough bread (using a Brod and Taylor folding proofing oven to proof the dough) and it was perfect and delicious. I use milled whole grain spelt for the starter and for the bread. After baking I put my left over starter in the fridge (top shelf at 4 degrees C) and revive it (feed/ferment) weekly for 24 hours with the "sourdough house" before baking bread. This really is how bread should be, it's just flour, water and some salt and tastes better than the commercial bread you buy in the supermarket. My stomach can't really tolerate the commercial breads but this home-made pure sourdough bread is no problem for me to eat.

Fabulous tool for sourdough baking. I love it and would recommend.

Amazing, it brings your sourdough making process to another level